Israel Insights

Getting to know local believers and to understand the situation on the ground in Israel is vital, and the best source for this is to connect directly with the people of the land. That’s why the ICEJ organised a panel discussion with three Messianic leaders from three different cities in Israel: Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Ashdod. The open and frank discussion gave examples of how to show God’s love in direct and practical ways. Praying for healing continues to bring results, both among believers going out to pray and the ones who are being healed.

God’s Sovereign Faithfulness and Grace for Israel
At the Feast’s first morning plenary, Daniel Yahav gave a message about Israel that only a native Israeli can deliver – consisting of both hope and reality. He referred to Israel’s amazing history through the millennia: “It’s exciting to hear the words that God spoke with Abraham 4,000 years ago, recorded by Moses 3,500 years ago.” The reality is, however, that God has guided the Jewish nation very much in spite of itself, i.e., by grace, and that believers should have God’s sovereign works as their main focus as they rejoice over the miracles performed for Israel. He drove home his message on the sovereignty of the Lord by stating, “God is not waiting, and He is not dependent on the nations or the UN. Our God is God. He created heaven and earth, and He has decided that this land is the inheritance of the people of Israel.”

Restoring the Altar of the Lord
Peter Tsukahira delivered a superbly inspiring message, in which he managed to make Scriptures acutely relevant by speaking about the tribal nature of human conflict and God as the only unifying peacemaker. He used Elijah’s battle on Mount Carmel to illustrate the modern-day battle in which believers find themselves, asking, “Will you be among the ones who will restore the altar of the Lord in the midst of your people?” He ended by declaring about Jerusalem, “Here are your roots. Here is where your King laid down his life for you. Here is where He rose from the dead, and here, according to the Scriptures, is where He is going to return.”

Divine Dealings

ICEJ’s International Spokesman, David Parsons, delved deeply into theology in his teaching on the suffering of the Jewish people, investigating the hopeful notion that the worst is past for Israel, meaning that because of historical calamities that have already transpired, Israel “has [already] received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” (Is. 40:2) The judgment still to come will now focus on the nations.

Plugging into Israel’s Prospects and Challenges
Yet again, the ICEJ’s leadership assembled a roster of accomplished speakers to give Feast pilgrims a handle on what is moving in Israel. A new investment platform, “OurCrowd” was introduced. Recognizing that there is great interest investing in Israel but a reluctance to do the “deal picking,” OurCrowd vets more than 200 start--ups monthly before it recommends two to three to its global network of investors, which includes everything from private individuals to corporate giants like Google.

Although the OurCrowd investment initiative’s success is an effective counter to BDS, Dr Eugene Kontorovich and Calev Myers in their seminar highlighted the nature of the newest form of affront against Israel, Lawfare. Lawfare is to attack Israel and its policies through legal means. Lawfare has been one of the favourite tactics of the BDS (Boycott, Divest and Sanction) movement in their efforts to delegitimise Israel, and while the key players have changed from being the Arab League to many European leaders and NGOs today, the goals remain the same. BDS is working to label every product created in the West Bank with what is for all intents and purposes “a yellow star” on Israeli products in the global market.

Find full DVD and MP3 coverage of Feast seminars, speakers and events atwww.icejstore.com